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TRP: Hansel and Raef (Chaver)
33--. Setting: Alabaster, Raef's house. Fuckin' Alabaster. Raef hated being back in the sparkling Elven city, but Goro wanted those letters and he had some shit he had to attend to after making sure the cleric was safe and sound. As safe and sound as they could be in this damn place, anyway. Raef scowled at the bag as he packed it on the dining room table with a tinder box, an extra tinder box, his newly acquired tome, and whatever the fuck else he thought he might need. It was just a house he was going to, but Gwydion was like his dad - cautious and full of tricks. He didn't know what the fuck was at the house and he wasn't gonna fuckin' die figuring it out. Izzy Hansel sidled up to Raef. Looked like he was getting ready for some shit, and Hansel was restless and bored in Alabaster. Fuckin' elves and shit. Making him disguise himself just to even be in their shitty fuckin' city. They gave him looks as a tiefling too, but they'd let him in, at least. "Hey, chaveri." He jerked his chin at Raef. "You lookin' to burn somethin'?" Mink "Hey." Raef flipped the flap over. "Lookin' to burn somethin'." He gave a wry sort of smile. "Wanna come?" Izzy "Sure fuckin' do." Mink "It's a date then." Raef chuckled. He stood up and swung the bag over his shoulder. "Let's get the fuck outta here." He waited for Hansel to put on the mask - this fuckin' city - so they could leave without being accosted. The trip was quick, following paths that Raef had damn near forgotten in his time away from the city. They were still the same: tight, dirty, and hidden. They dropped them out behind a building covered in vines and obscured by a hedge. "Got a fuckin' axe?" Raef asked as he fished around in his pack for something. The entrance was overgrown and he only had so much rope for climbing. Izzy Hansel pulled one of his handaxes off his belt, started to flip it and offer it, but figured he'd probably have better luck with chopping shit than Raef would. "Always. You got a key once the plants are outta the way, or should I get us in?" Mink Raef chuckled; he should've known. "Nah. There's a key." Izzy "Pssh. Ain't any fun." Hansel hacked through the vegetation. It was pretty well-established -- seemed like it'd been growing up for a while. "How long's this been sittin' here, anyhow?" Mink "I'll let you break a window." Raef grinned, watching Hansel hack through the brush. "No fuckin' idea." He didn't know when Gwydion finally left or if he'd even kept the place up after he left. He rocked a little on his heels and back to his toes. "Fifty years?" Izzy Hansel gave another psshh. Longer than he'd even been alive. "Fuckin' elves," he said, half-fondly, and squinted at the door behind the plantlife. Mink Raef snorted. "Trade you." He grinned as he walked towards the door, eyeing it. Vines crept across the door, whithered and bare. The grass overgrew the stone path now. It looked like shit. Izzy Hansel grabbed the back of his shirt. "Hey, hey." He gestured to a couple glyphs etched into the door and mat with his axe. Luci could do those -- Goro had'em in his quarters. "You got the password for that?" Mink Raef squinted at the door and mat. Shit. "Nope." They weren't there when he left. He glanced around the door, but didn't see any clues to a password or how to get in. "Guess you getta break a window." Izzy "Or," Hansel said, "hear me out, I just fuckin' walk into it, 'cause there ain't fuck-all that can really hurt me anyhow, yeah?" Mink Raef stared at Hansel. "No." Izzy "Aw." Mink "Go break a window." Izzy Hansel clicked his tongue and ambled over to a window. "No one ever lets me have any fuckin' fun." He spun the axe and smashed the handle into a glass pane. Mink The glass shattered, falling into the house and masking the sound of three wumpfs. The only notice something had been shot was three arrows sticking out of Hansel's chest. "Fuckin' - " Gwydion had done improvements to the house. Raef stepped up quickly. "Shit. You okay?" Izzy "Hm," Hansel said. "I mean, yeah." They'd pinged off his armor, not going deep. Three of'em, though. "Fucking inconvenient." He snapped the fletching off automatically, then yanked them straight out and tossed them aside. He grinned at Raef. "Better me than you, eh?" Mink "Ouch." Raef grinned back. He grabbed the windowsill and hoisted himself up, careful to not cut his hands on the jagged glass, and dropped on. Dust swirled up into the air, but what he could see of the living room was neat and orderly - like he had left it. The couch was still in it's place, the end tables decorated with candles and paintings, even the curtains were still pulled back. He sighed and glanced at Hansel. "C'mon." Izzy Hansel brushed the loose glass away with his sleeve and climbed in, less graceful than Raef had been. He peered around in the dark. "So ... what now?" Mink "We're gonna find where Gwydion hid the body then we're gonna burn it." Raef shifted his pack and he turned to leave the room, walking towards the back of the house. Izzy "Hmm." He gave the room another look around. "Fuckin' ... creepy cellar, I'm guessing?" Mink "'Cept there shouldn't be a fuckin' cellar." Raef scratched the back of his head. Gwydion may've made one, but he couldn't think of where. Nothing looked different other than the layer of dust littering the floor and furniture. Izzy Hansel backhanded his arm and pointed down the hall. "That somethin'?" Mink "Yeah." It'd been awhile, but the glittering outline in the lower part of the wall marking the end of the hallway hadn't been there before. He hesitated as he walked over to it. "Know any spells for magic shit?" Izzy "Pfft." Hansel gave him a look. "You're the fuckin' fancy-ass warlock an' shit. I just talk to plants." Mink "I don't think I can zap it." Raef laughed as he crouched to look at the outline. He didn't see a keyhole. "Hand me an axe." Izzy "Uh." Hansel prodded Raef's comparatively skinny arm, amused. "Nah. How 'bout you tell me what you want hacked into and I do it." Mink "And let you get blown up? Nuh-uh. Goro'd skin me alive." Raef laughed and held out his hand; Hansel had a fair point, but he wasn't going to hack into anything. Izzy "Psh." He handed it over. Mink Raef grabbed the axe and he pushed the blade along the line, barely able to shove it into the wood to split downward. Lightning crackled angrily at the intrusion. He let it go on for a few seconds before he yanked out the axe. Not a damn thing had happened. "Goddamn necromancers," Raef growled as he dropped to his ass. He handed the ace back. "Your turn." Izzy Hansel grinned at him, smug. The lightning shit -- if it hit him, he could just absorb the worst of it anyway. He knelt down and jammed the axe blade into the small gap Raef'd made, giving it a good shove until the wood cracked further. Mink Raef flipped Hansel off with a smile. Lightning crackled again as the wood splintered and broke, arcing out and missing Hansel. The line flared and vanished as the hidden door swung on its hinge, only to be replaced by a bolt of white light shooting out towards Hansel. Izzy Ah, well. Yeah. There it was. Hansel twitched and felt the electricity sink into him in a way it didn't when it just hit him -- it charged him instead, leaving little sparks leaping across his skin. Before he'd been able to channel it out, but -- didn't much care to hold onto it. He shook the sparks off. Then he gestured down the hall. "After you, chaveri." Mink "You need to teach me that trick." Raef glanced over Hansel; the fucker could probably be neat death and not say a damn word. He slipped through the doorway to follow the stairs downwards. They turned around a corner and a hand snapped out. Raef snaked a hand out to knock it aside.. He snapped a finger and pointed at the cleric. A deep, thrumming ringing filled the air, centered around the robed elf that staggered back; dark, leaking wounds sprang up across the elf's arms. Izzy Neat. Normally Hansel would look to whoever he was with to see if they wanted him to kill a motherfucker, but the great thing about Raef was that they always seemed to just about be on the same page about when people needed to get dead. So he didn't bother to take that moment of glancing consideration -- just swiped his trident off his back and lashed it out in the same whirling motion to lodge into the stranger's shoulder, driving them down onto the floor. The trident's tines dug into the floorboards, and Hansel dropped a boot against his neck. Oozing wounds crept up the arm towards his neck, and Hansel half-grinned, half-grimaced. Fuckin' nasty, this magic Raef'd gotten. It'd be a lot fucking cooler if he hadn't had to sell his soul or whatever the fuck to get it. He did look back to Raef then, though, once the other elf was pinned and his life was trapped under the sole of Hansel's boot. "Dead or alive, you reckon?" he asked casually. Mink Damn, if that trident wasn't fuckin' amazing in Hansel's hands. Hansel never failed to impress and Raef was more than happy to watch until he was looked at. "Alive," he said as he walked over. He crouched down besides the elf - cleric from the looks of it - and rested his arms on his knees, hands dangling in-between. "Why don't you be a good boy and tell me if there's anymore of you down here." The cleric grimaced and spat a wad of blood out that landed near Raef's boots with a sick plop. "Look. I'm gonna have my friend step a little harder if you don't tell me." Raef shrugged. "Maybe you'll get to fuckin' skidaddle if you make our job a little easier." Izzy Hansel leaned a tiny bit more of his weight onto the elf's throat, narrowing his eyes. He jostled his trident a bit. "I'd be fuckin' polite about it if I were you." Mink The cleric raked his nails on the stone floor, pitter-pattering asrhey scraped, before he managed a jerky sort of nod and a breathy gasp. "Yes there are more people?" Raef asked, arching an eyebrow. The cleric grimaced, swallowed thickly, and shook his head. "Any traps?" Another frantic headshake. Raef stood up. He glanced towards Hansel. "What do you think?" Izzy Hansel clicked his tongue and pressed down a little harder. "I think he's fulla shit," he said calmly. "I think there's traps. What d'you wanna do to'im 'til he tells us where they are, eh?" Mink Raef snorted. If there was anyone he could trust to know shit it was Hansel. He looked down at the cleric. "What 'bout draggin' him with us? Make him find the traps." Izzy "Hm." Hansel wiggled the trident lodged in the man's shoulder again. "Maybe chop off his hands and gag him so he can't do any magic shit, just shove him on ahead of us so he finds'em with his face." Mink "Sounds like a --" -- the cleric's nails skittered again and he struggled to grab atthe trident. "..nuh...no..." "How many traps?" "...two...two..." Raef tapped his bag. "Ya sure? 'Cause my friend has a real good idea of you're lying." The elf nodded quickly, shakily. "Yes!" Izzy Hansel'd found that when people had a boot on their neck, a trident in their shoulder, and a six-and-a-half-foot high orc -- well, he was a tiefling now, but anyway -- was talking about cutting off their hands, they tended to be more honest than not. This one, he figured, was fuckin' scared enough that he was telling the truth now. Still, he gave the trident a bit of an extra wrench, just because the fucker had spat at Raef. "S'pose I buy it. Now why don't you tell us where those traps're at, eh, and maybe you can keep the hand you like better." Mink The cleric hissed out and bared his teeth, hand tight around one of the tines of the trident when it drug against his shoulder. "Three...stones at the end of the-of the hall. Don't step on-on them," he ground out through the obvious pain and fear he was in. "The second's on -hah- the casket. Don't-Don't know the code." Fuckin' Gwydion. He'd been as paranoid as the rest of them. "You gonna be a good boy if we let you go?" Raef asked, still watching the cleric. The fucker couldn't be trusted. It'd be better just to kill him. The cleric nodded. "Yes!" Izzy "Hmm." Hansel slid his eyes over at Raef. In orcish, he said, "Think he's tellin' the truth, but I can kill him anyway if y'like, chaveri." Mink "Better safe than sorry," Raef answered in orc. He didn't feel like getting a spell in the back. "Yeah, kill 'im." Izzy Hansel pressed his boot down until there was a crunch, then wrenched his trident back out of the floorboards. He glanced down at the cleric, considering. "Y'know, I don't know fuck-all about laws on the land, much less in Alabaster in particular, but d'you suppose we oughta steal some shit to make all this look like a burglary or somethin'?" Mink "Nah. It's fine." Raef chuckled a little, waving a hand dismissively as he led the way back down the hall. "It's my house and we're gonna burn it." Izzy "Neat." Hansel followed him, keeping an eye out for those three stones the dead guy had mentioned. "Shoulda brought Mishka. Fucker loves burning shit," he said fondly. Mink "Yeah." Mishka knew shit to blow things up, except...this was personal and he wasn't going to light Aesar on fire with a fireball. Raef shifted the bag on his shoulder, looking over the ground for the stones. The three were hidden well, the grain of the rock only a little shade off of the others. They rested in front of a door. He pushed it open and stepped over them. The room inside was light softly with flickering candles and lamps nestled in alcoves and resting on tables lined around the room. It was sparsely decorated, but the reason why was a golden platform in the center. Spirals danced and spun across the gold, flitting up to grasp at the rounded glass nestled in on top. It was beautiful, but not as beautiful as the man laying on the platform, concealed in glass. Aesar looked like he was sleeping but for the crook in his arms as his hands wrapped around the pommel of his scimitar. Any second now he could have taken a breath. Izzy Hansel held back a bit, feeling out of place as they entered the ... fuckin' tomb, he supposed. It was ornate as hell -- a far cry from wrapping someone in a shroud and putting them in a hole. Then again, he guessed the point here wasn't to bury someone forever. It was to preserve him. He stayed at Raef's shoulder, looking past him to appraise Aesar. That cleric, he guessed, had been keeping him looking like he was barely dead at all -- just taking a nap in a shrine to himself. Hansel thought about Gwydion and winced a little, imagining the kid down here with his dad, desperate to bring him back some day. Making fuckin' deals with anyone who'd offer him one to try to make it happen. Hansel knew it wasn't his business, and all that really mattered to him was helping Raef -- whatever it was that Raef wanted to do -- but he had to ask. "Hey. Why're we doin' this, anyway? Don't you ... I dunno. Wanna bring him back? Have the option, anyway?" Mink He could've kept staring all day, not entering the room, but Hansel was a jog back to what he was supposed to be doing. He didn't really know what he'd have done if Hansel's hadn't've come. Raef squeezed the strap of his bag as he stepped forward, deeper into the tomb. "He wouldn't come back," he said, walking around the casket for the lock - the last trap. "I'm not gonna let someone dig him up again." Gwydion had and it twisted like a knife in his chest. He hadn't done what he was supposed to for him, for both of them. He stopped walking when he saw three circles close to each other. A grim smile twisted his lips when he noticed what the engravings were. "See these stars?" "Mmhmm. They're stars." He chuckled; Gwydion wasn't wrong. "Uh-huh. See how they're pointing?" "...yeah…" Skeptical, as always. "Follow them and…" "...you'll always find your way home…" Raef sighed out. He touched the circles and turned until they were aligned. The casket clicked. Air hissed out as the glass released from the platform. Izzy Hansel frowned a bit. He got Gwydion's urge to bring his dad back -- shit, now more than ever, now that he himself even had a fuckin' dad he might want to bring back. Even before, though, there'd always been people he'd wished he hadn't lost. Taavit. Then Elitash, and the others. If he could, he was pretty sure he'd bring back Gwydion. Barely knew the kid, but ... still. He'd been a strange one. Seemed like he needed some guidance, and Hansel felt like he was okay that that sort of thing -- probably had too much history with Raef now for Raef to help him. It got like that sometimes. But Hansel thought he was still a fundamentally good person and he sure as fuck hadn't deserved the death he'd gotten, and -- fuck, he'd made Jonn happy. Hansel had seen the way Jonn lit up, talking about him. Real feelings. The sort Hansel was never totally sure if Jonn actually had. It was selfish, he guessed, that being the main thing, but it was. He thought Gwydion was good for Jonn. And he thought Gwydion could do a lot of other good, with a little help, a little direction. He thought bringing back their father wasn't such a terrible thing for a kid want. Gwydion wasn't here, though, anymore. Raef was. And Raef was Hansel's like Aesar had been Raef's, he supposed, so he'd do what Raef wanted and trust it was what Aesar would've wanted, too, and was what was best. The glass casket opened, and Hansel shifted. Felt like he should get ready for a fight, somehow, like Aesar was going to sit up and attack them. Since he figured that wasn't really gonna happen, he just quietly put his hand on Raef's back, instead, to be there. Mink Raef stiffened before relaxing under Hansel's hand. He bit back embarrassed laughter; he was on edge and all he had to do was lift the glass and let Aesar go. Again. He had done it once before and he could do it again. Raef hooked his fingers under the glass, lifted, and the lid swung back. Air stirred the long, golden strands that were neatly arranged. If it was only a breath that caused it, the rising of a chest... His jaw tightened. Aesar wouldn't want to come back. He had had a good life and they'd raised a kid together. Maybe he'd come back to help Gwydion, but Aesar didn't know about him or how badly he'd missed all of the signs. Hansel's hand was light against his back, a comforting weight. Hansel wasn't judging him, didn't answer him, was just there. It was good. With a sigh, Raef stepped closer to the casket. He stroked his fingers through Aesar's hair, soft and like silk. He placed a kiss to his forehead. I'm sorry. He stepped back to fish out the tinder and smalls bundles he'd made. He placed each one carefully against the armor that Aesar wore - it was old armor, but it glinted like new. Aesar would've been amused; neither of them had ever seen it so clean. Once the starters were placed, Raef grabbed he flint and steel. They struck together. Sparked. Caught. He lit several more of the bundles. "C'mon." Raef took a step away before he could listen to the urge to put out the flames. Izzy Hansel took a hesitant step back. It'd take some time before the place went up properly. He slipped his hand down to squeeze Raef's, quietly asking, "D'you ... wanna take a minute?" Mink Raef twined his fingers with Hansel's. Fucker was so fuckin' steady. "Not in here," he answered, gently tugging to lead Hansel from the room. He was a weak fucker and he knew it. Izzy "All right." He wanted out of the room -- didn't want to watch it happen. Hansel got that. He took the lead and pulled Raef away swiftly, out of the tomb, back to the hall, round a corner so it was all out of sight and the smoke wasn't quite reaching them yet. He paused there and let go of Raef's hand to wrap him up in a tight hug instead. Didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything, and hoped the I'm here and the whatever you need could go unspoken. Mink He was supposed to be leading - it was his house - but Hansel pulled him along until they had rounded the bend and were away from the fire. Then he was pulled into a hug. Nothing was said, there were no flippant comments or soothing words. Just Hansel holding on. Raef wanted to just step back because this was fine, he was fine, but fuckin' Hansel would've called him on his bullshit. Instead he leaned into the hug and wrapped his arms around Hansel as best he could. He just stood there, holding on just as he was held, staring out through dark waves of hair and past Hansel's arm, listening to his heartbeat and each breath of air. Maybe in another life there could've been something more, but in this life there was this and that was what he wanted. Raef only started to move when smoke began to trickle across the ceiling. "C'mon before we're stuck," he said with a faint smile as he extricated himself from Hansel's grip, clasping one hand in his hand. "I gotta get something upstairs." Izzy Satisfied Raef was all right -- for now, anyway -- this kind of thing didn't happen all at once -- Hansel let him loose, nodding. "A'right. Best make it fuckin' quick, though." He shifted, ready to follow. Mink Hansel followed, Raef led. They followed the path they took to go downstairs, past the dead cleric, past the broken door, and into the dusty interior. It was sad to see, now, after seeing how pristine the tomb had been. Gwydion had spent more time down there. Raef grimaced at the thought and focused on taking them up a small flight of stairs that led to what used to be an attic. When he opened the door he stopped, staring. It was clean, no dust littering the surfaces, but that wasn't what was surprising. When the door opened, stars lit up along the ceiling, twinkling and flashing in the pattern on the tomb. Some sort of spell triggered by movement. There were enough to see by, to see the nearly made bed, the shelves lined with books - no longer picture books, but books on magic -, the desk decorated with small vials and bottles. A lone rose perched on a bottle. Raef let go of Hansel's hand and left him in the doorway. He knew what he wanted and where Gwydion had hidden it. Izzy Hansel idled in the doorway, uncomfortable. It was too ... cozy. Too warm. The rest of the place was abandoned, and the crypt was a fucking crypt, but this was a home. Gwydion's home. He opened his mouth and shut it, looking around. "Hey." He hesitated. "Raef." Mink Raef paused, close to the headboard but not close enough to reach behind it. He glanced back at Hansel. "Yeah?" Izzy "D'you ..." Ah, it was morbid. This was Raef, though. It'd probably be fine. "D'you think it'd be all right if I took somethin' of Gwydion's back, for Jonn?" Mink Jonn. Raef looked back towards the headboard. Jonn...the only person to have ever cared for Gwydion, to watch him when he couldn't. "...give me a second..." Raef sighed. He walked to the headboard, pulled it, and reached behind. The object was easy to palm, smooth and cool against his skin. He wanted it for himself, a memory of a family he had had. One more thing...but...Jonn...shit...Jonn deserved it more. Maybe needed it more. Raef swallowed as he walked back to Hansel. He took his hand and pressed the object it into it. It was even smaller there. If Hansel pressed the button the hinge would snap up, concealing a compass. Engraved in the top, with the constellation dancing above them, was Follow the stars and you'll always find your way home. Izzy Hansel shifted the compass case in his hand. Made his heart clench a bit, thinking about how Jonn always played with his own compass, swirling it around, watching the needle wobble. Wasn't anything fancy -- dinged up old copper thing he'd had about as long as he'd been on the sea. He'd let Jonn keep it. He clicked this one closed, swallowing the lump in his throat. Wasn't any time to get all reflective and cry about shit in a burning building, so he brushed it off for now, and just softly said, "Always needed help finding his way, eh?" Mink "Couldn't find his way out of a bag." Raef chuckled softly. He placed a hand over Hansel's and squeezed. "Make sure to tell him 'thank you' for me." He'd let him watch Tikva and they'd talk about her, but...but they never talked about Gwydion. He'd probably just cry. Hansel could, though, could tell him 'thank you' for caring for his kid. Izzy Hansel nodded, smiling slightly. "Will do." He pocketed the compass, and started to pull Raef on out, but paused. "Anything else?" Mink Raef took a step before glanced back at the room, looking over the bed, the cases, the desk, the lone rose. This was the last time he was going to see it. His throat tightened. "No." He closed the door behind them, like so many doors had been closed in his life. Raef followed Hansel from the house, one last trek through it, before they were outside. There was only brief pause to pick up a small painting that was tucked away with only the smallest of glances at it. Izzy Hansel led Raef on out. The place was getting choked with smoke, now -- he pulled the bloody handkerchief Larkin had given him out of his pocket to hold over his mouth and nose. Raef was a little better off, being lower down, but Hansel kept an arm around him to keep them from getting lost in the growing haze. Kept them together up until the broken window -- where the air was clearer -- and urged Raef out ahead of him before clambering out. He coughed a couple times and cleared his throat, putting the handkerchief away. "All good?" Mink Smoke billowed out through the window as they caught their breath in thankfully clean air. The house was catching quick. Good. It would burn enough before anyone could come to put out the flames. Raef cleared his throat, coughed, and cleared again. "All good," he agreed, taking a few more steps away from the house. Flames peeked out from inside. That was better than the smoke. "I need a drink. Wanna join?" Izzy "Fuckin' aye." He squinted up at the place, feeling some kinda way he couldn't quite pin down. The compass stowed in his pocket felt heavy. He looked back down to Raef. "S'pose you know all the best places." Mink Raef snorted. "S'pose so. Got a place you'd like." It was another trip down memory lane. He glanced back towards the house, but he didn't linger long. It was painful to watch just as it was...he didn't fuckin' know. He tugged at Hansel's wrist to get him moving. "Let's go before a big ass tiefling's spotted." Izzy "Psshh." Hansel gave a glance around to make sure there was no one nearby, then pulled the mask off -- flickering to half-orc -- before replacing it and shimmering to an elf. Still just as tall, but a little leaner like elves were, with a dark elven skin tone, messy black hair like his own, and some of the same scars. Fit in better while still not being the perfect Alabaster elf. He offered Raef a grin, and hooked an arm around him. Mink Raef could never get used to the mask even if he's used it once and seen Hansel and Mishka use it other times. It was fuckin' handy. He grinned, draping an arm around Hansel. "Gotta still be massive, eh?" Raef squeezed Hansel as he led the way. " Izzy "Aye." He rubbed at his chin. "Miss the beard, though. Eh." Mink "Still got the scars." Hansel, even as an elf, looked like he needed a beard. It was fuckin' strange, but he'd damn near match the clientele of the bar - joint. Even calling it a joint was too generous. Raef led them through back alleys once more and down a set of stairs sunken into the ground, leading into a short tunnel and ending at a burned looking door. Hopefully the code was the same. He knocked twice, paused, one, paused, and scraped his knuckles down in a rat-a-tat-tat rhythm. Just as he was wondering if it'd been too long, the door opened and he grinned at the elf that peeked out. He'd recognize one-eyed, scarred face anywhere. "Shit. You're not dead," the elf answered before shooting a wary glance at Hansel. "Who the fuck are you?" Izzy Ah, shit, shit. 'Hansel' wasn't any kinda fuckin' elven name. He shoulda thought ahead. "His partner," Hansel deadpanned. Maybe that worked. Mink The scarred elf squinted. "Get outta the way," Raef cut in, smiling lightly. "We just want a drink. You still got those?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." With much grumbling the door opened to let Raef and Hansel in. The room was a circle with crumbling brick walls holding back the dirt if the ground. It was darkly lit and grime lung to the floor, but the tables were clean and the bar was clean. It was a shitty looking bar, but the elves and sporadic other races let in were chatting boisterously as they drank. "What'll you have?" The elf that let them siddled over towards the bar. "Usual?" "Mmhmm." Raef scouted over the room. No one looked their way and he didn't recognize anyone - it was fine by him. Izzy Hansel grumbled, giving the doorman a venomous look as he stepped in. He'd been in plenty of skeevy-looking dives, but none of them had guards -- figured it must be some kinda shady shit Raef had been tangled up in when he was younger. Even though it was Raef's city, Raef's seedy underbelly, it made Hansel feel all protective. He kept close and kept his face dull and unamused, flashing a couple fingers to gesture he'd have whatever Raef's usual was. Mink The elf squinted again at Hansel, distrustfully. He also shot Raef a look as he bustled around, muttering something about fucking ghosts. Raef damn near rolled his eyes. The bartender was younger than him, but not by a shit ton of decades. If he was a ghost then so was Tolya. "Any news?" he asked as he waited for their drinks. He tapped his fingers on the bar; he just wanted to fuckin' relax with Hansel, but old habits died hard. "Everyone's dead." Tolya narrowed his eyes. "'Cept you and the new kids." He shrugged and handed over the mugs of a steaming liquid. It smelled like spiced honey. "Great." Raef grabbed his mug. "Nice talk." He wound his way through the crowded den and found a booth nestled near an unused fireplace that had seen better days. He dropped in and propped up his feet. "...elves..." Izzy Hansel followed him, fucking relieved he hadn't had to come up with a name. He sat down heavily next to Raef, stretching his arm out behind him, along the back of the booth, and snorted. "We're elves," he said lowly, amusing himself. Mink Raef snorted into his cup. "Pretty shitty elves. You don't even have a proper name," he answered with a grin. Izzy "Hey, now. Hey. Hey," he objected, giving himself a minute to think. "I fuckin' do. Fuck off. Go on, ask me what it is." Mink "Uh-huh. What is it?" Izzy Shit. Fuck. Hansel scoffed. What was an elven name? Now all he could think was Mikhail. Uh, Grigori. Uhh, Luka? Aleksei? Fuck. Fuck. "Fuckin' ... Joakim." That was one. He'd known a Joakim, but Raef didn't know him. Hah. He grinned, smug, even though it'd taken him a beat too long to come up with it. Mink Raef quirked an eyebrow and sipped his drink to suppress a smile. "Knew someone named that, eh?" Izzy "Fuck you." He kept grinning, less smug now. Mink Raef winked, smiling wider. "I knew it." Izzy "Pffft." Hansel crooked his elbow to lazily push Raef away by the face, pulling him right back, and took a drink. "A'right. You give me a fuckin' name, then, chaveri." Mink He nearly spilled his drink, but it didn't stop the chortle as he was dragged back. He settled in against Hansel. "Mmm..." Raef turned his mug around as he thought. "Konstantin." It was a good name for Hansel; it was everything Hansel was when he needed him. Izzy "You gonna fuckin' call me Connie?" he asked, amused. Mink "Only if you ask nicely." Izzy He snorted. "Not fuckin' fair. Ain't got a nickname for Raef. S'too short." He mulled it over, considering making a joke about Raef also being short, but it seemed too easy. Eh, nah. He just gave Raef a sly grin and let him piece it together himself. Mink It took Raef a second. He shoved Hansel, or rather he pushed a hand against him and Hansel went nowhere. He grinned with a wink. "Ain't short where it counts." Izzy "Oh, aye? You wanna prove that?" Mink "Yep." Raef took another swallow. "Dunno if you can handle it." Izzy "Psshh." Ah, hm. Hm. Well. Hm. "You're all fuckin' talk, Chastain." He knocked the last of his drink back. "Else you'd've taken me to an inn so's we could get a room, eh?" Mink "Is that a challenge, Bell? Raef finished off his drink. "'Cause I can do more than talk with this." He tapped two fingers against his lips, winked, and dropped his feet to the floor to stand. "But, like I said, I dunno if you can handle it." He slid out from the booth. Izzy Hahah. All right, then. Hansel slid out after him and hefted him up by the hips -- weighed even less than Mishka -- tossing him over a shoulder and grinning back at him over the other, a hand on the small of his back. "Y'know any nice secluded alleyways in this city?" A room'd work fine, but hey. Didn't hurt to ask. Mink Of -fucking- course he was hoisted over a shoulder. Raef laughed, hardly more than a whisper of air. "Dunno 'bout any alleys, but there's an inn 'round the corner." Not the best inn and an alley'd be fine, but, ah, Hansel the elf wasn't like Hansel the half-orc. Izzy Hansel scoffed good-naturedly. "Well, shit, if we're gonna buy a room for the whole night ..." He shifted Raef on his shoulder and gave him a long look up and down, remembering how he'd thought Raef was attractive from the start -- it'd faded somewhere along the way, as he'd just gotten used to Raef being around. Just assumed there was no point in it and shut it down. Was back now, though. He grinned. "Gonna get my money's worth." END Title: Chaver. Summary: Raef takes Hansel along to burn Aeaar's body. Afterwards, they get a drink and a room. Category:Text Roleplay